I am wondering if you don't treat the constipation due to lack of funds if you can die from no bowel movements. I only seem to be able to move my bowels every 7 to 14days now. I dont have the money to use miralax 5x a day as 2 or 3x does nothing for me. I get relief EVENTUALLY if I set aside a day and throw 3 or 4 laxatives at the problem. (M.O.M., dulcolax, miralax or exlax) The docs did colonoscopy and said all was great. GREAT is being able to go to bathroom!!! UGH

The tests are super expensive, embarrassing and I don't really drive so it all seems so hopeless to resolve this. The constipation started which I never had b4, back in jan of 2010 after my hysterectomy. Before this I was going 2 or 3 times a day always after meals. No ISSUES. Now I dont even get the urge to go ever. :(

I just wanted to know if this keeps going on if I will eventually die. I eat once a day something small and I was ALWAYS a size 2 or 4 My entire life (Im 39) and now even cutting back 2 meals a day I have gained 20lbs since january. :( Will I just continue to gain weight? And honestly will this get worse with the constipation? I am at my wits end. Oh and enemas produce little movement either...Nor does water increase or exercising more.

TY all for ANY input as I am very scared and miserable. I am so glad to find this site and meet people with same issues however, I am very sorry for ANYONE suffering this-

Liz, its important you get looked at yes. It can be very serious not to scare you, but the importance of it all. It can kill you if left untreated depending on the problem. However its usally pretty easy to diagnose and treat.

You also don't want to live this way if you don't have too.

Do you have a regular doctor right now? Are there any free clinics in your area?

Ty so much for the quick input. :) Well I had Aetna ins. but its $340 a month now as I broke up with boyfriend whom I also worked for and was on his plan, ugh.

I cant afford the $340 per month as I dont work now either due to other health issues and anxiety that's chronically disabling. But I was able to get the colonoscopy done last month by GI doc. along with bloodwork for thyroid check,etc.

All normal. I swear this happened right after my hysterectomy which i had done to remove large softball size mass in jan. GYN said no clue why and to see G.I. doc. He and 2 other docs say drink miralax??? IT DOESN'T work. I do the high fiber diet, water, excercise ect. not much luck either.

I feel like the docs are very dismissive if they can't see the problem directly. I guess I looked fine at 5'11 and 125lbs. I used to be a model but 20-25lbs is alot of weight to gain in 5months! ESpecially for me as I always had trouble gaining weight.

Well now I barely eat or look at food and it just sits there an I gain weight. I used to be ENTIRElY lactose intolerant, I mean anything made with milk or dairy and I had explosive bowel movements. Ice cream was just a no can do. NONE of that creates even the slightest urge for me to go now. Why? So odd. I am really uncomfortable even though I don't throw up, I still feel full til my mid ribs an pressure and bloating.

I am reading how people have colonic inertia, and then get colestectomy? Can I need this to fix me? Yes I will have to try an visit doc again but with what $ I don't know. Nice obama gives other countries 400 million and we still have no real healthcare for poor or sick in place. I don't trust a free clinic. Allready had bad medical care in past 4 other issues from highest rated specialty docs. I'm really getting depressed. There has to be a reason for my problem right? :(

well, i have it too but i am also allergic to drugs. i have found this stuff dicyclomine 10 mg to work for me. But you can take more...a lot more. I take it at night because it makes you sleepy. It is a bowel tranquilizer.

How much miralax do you take? Have you ever had a transit marker test? I was diagnosed with colonic inertia, but have struggled with constipation my whole life....so, the diagnoses of colonic inertia was not a big deal....it just means slow transit constipation.

But, AFTER my hysterectomy, I could not push down to poop...so, I had many divided movements everyday....this took hours of my time and still does. I have since been diagnosed with rectal intussusecption, anismus, and a rectecele. Do you have trouble getting the poop out when it gets down to the rectum? Or is getting the poop to the rectum the problem?

Inpain89, I really suggest somehow seeing a doctor and getting a sitz marker test done. This will tell how fast stuff goes through you.

Some of your questions I can't answer because I don't know enough about them in regards to a hysterectomy and consipation.

But somehow its important to get this figured out and treated, because of the long term issus and because it can be dangerous.

There may also be a way to get into a study depending on where you live. Then they will test you for free.

I understand the money issues for sure, but your health is more important here. There are tests to figure this out and then ways to treat it. You might not need a colestectomy is they can treat it otherways.

But the diagnoses is important now. IF your doctor you were seeing wasn't helpful, its important to find one that is, usally in internal medicine as a primary and gastro as a speciality.

Joan, I am a little suprize they put you on dicyclomine as that can contribute to not going.Forum Moderator

I am not a doctor. All information I present is for educational purposes only and should not be subsituted for the advise of a qualified health care provider.

Please make sure you have your symptoms diagnosed by a medical practitioner or a doctor.

Joan- Yes I am curious like Shawn, wouldn't a tranquilizer slow bowels? I was 125 lbs most of my life, now 150 or so since all this constipation. :(

Yes- I TRULY cannot stand to finally get into a doctor being so desperate for answers only to be told I am fine!?!?! Not having bowel movements for days on end is NOT normal. I swear gastros in baltimore had a 2month new patient wait, then I get there only to be told to take laxatives is just crushing as obviously like I told G.I. I allready tried that, barely works...sigh

Like today , I Finally had a BM which was the consistency of a cow patty, then some watery liquid after 3 days of dulcolax 4 pills a day, miralax (capful)3x a day, and M.O.M. at night b4 bed...This is just ruining my life. :(

My favorite activity was enjoying nice long relaxing meals with friends or family and enjoying food....NOW I am terrified of food and dread meals. Really ruins my social interractions as I never went out too much but used to look forward to good home cooked meals nightly.

Answers 3 Me 2- So you DID have increased problems with bowels after hysterectomy? Could they have damaged something in there? Doc who did colonoscopy said my bowels looked very clean an healthy. I asked if there could be adhesions from surgery previous, (hys.) he said no. Can they tell if there are adhesions now with colonoscopy alone?

I also was on a course of very strong antibiotics for anerobic bacterial infection inside me following hysterectomy, Flagyl and Cipro combined.

When I was in hospital 2 days after My hysterectomy nurse listened to my tummy with a stethescope an said I had very slight bowel sounds. I really don't know how common this is for bowels to just quit working almost like this after hysterectomy but would love to find out.

My thyroid was fine....could b hormonal? He left 2 ovaries as I'm young and didn't wanna start menopause. Sooo frustrated!!! :( Doc who did surgery just wrote me off when I asked him what were chances related to hys. by saying see gastro. THIS is why people go yrs in misery as you get tossed from pillar to post as easier for docs to unload you instead of help or give you true answers. Really burns Me up tho. IM SURE you all have had a few experiences too as healthcare really is poor for most these days even with proper $ and insurance- which I had at the time. I simply Can't imagine how they treat you without. Terrified to find out now. :(

My medicaid just got approved due to disability. I hear it is all but useless though as just about no physician accepts medicaid patients. ugh So ty Shawn for the input. I am going to research this option. I keep praying I don't get obstruction and need hospital help. I think they don't accept medicaid either here. It's really a mess. I'm too young for medicare which is accepted by many physicians. I REALLY need help though. No one deserves being denied help for medical emergencys. How are the poor ever going to be able to get on feet if ill? I was always upper middle class but illness takes alot of money and working requires HEALTH. ;)

Thank you all and again I'm so sorry anyone of you has endured these debilitating G.I.issues- Liz

p.s. answers4me2- It is getting the stool down to rectum it feels like is my major problem. It feels like I'm full and it's very painful in lower ribs on right after eating. Burning dull ache there.( gallbladder was removed in 01, so not that) When I have BM pain is reduced alot. Bloating and weight gain in midsection is awful. I can just see the food all sitting there as tummy balloons out til bowels move. Even when I finally go tho I STILL feel there is more I wanna push from ribs down but never comes. :(

InPain, I have some experience with chronic constipation from pain medication. I was put on MiraLax, but when it became OTC my insurance would no longer cover it and I can't afford it out-of-pocket. I now take an herbal remedy, cascara sagrada capsules. I only need one a night, but you would probably need more. It works by the next morning for me and is a lot more natural than Ex-Lax or those types of laxatives. Stool softeners don't work for me. I have a hard time whenever I have surgery and am on heavy pain meds. I tell them that I need magnesium citrate and they try everything else (which doesn't work) until they finally order that for me. I once went without a BM for 7 days and was so bloated and miserable. When I finally got the mag citrate, I drank 1 1/2 bottles and filled up 2 bed pans with BM. The last time I had to have surgery, I took my own mag citrate with me and drank it after not going for 5 days. It worked. So you might try that, too. It is OTC in any drug store and even comes in cherry and grape flavors.

I think it's important that you get to the root of your problem. However, the not wanting to bear down to move your bowels after the hysterectomy probably contributed to your present problem and now it has snowballed. I had a similar problem after 2 hernia repairs. I do not have IBS or any other bowel problem.

Another point is that you only have one small meal a day. There may not be enough food to make its way through you on a regular basis. You also need a high-fiber diet.

I am assuming you are on SSI. You do not have to be elderly to get Medicare if you are deemed disabled by Social Security and benefits are based on your work record. From what you have told us, plus your age, I'm guessing you didn't have enough work history contributions to qualify for SSD and Medicare.

I hope all this helps a little, but I agree that you need to see a different GI doctor.

no, i just call it a tranquillizer to make it quick. the docs know that it has something to with nerve endings. talk to a pharmacist about it. they talk and they don't charge.

maybe this would not be the right med for you. actually it is too strong for me sometimes but i am allergic to drugs and have a highly sensitive reaction to drugs.

i was buying zelmac which my gastro knew about but it doesn't work well for people over 65 and is very expensive.

i am soon to be 65...so i decided to go for the alternative. this is truly an orphan disease. nobody seems to care about us. docs think constipation is "nothing" but it is no fun. i am very tired of it as i have had it 18 years now.

If you have had these symptoms only since your surgery (antibiotic treatment) I'm thinking the antibiotics are playing a role. Perhaps start taking some reputable probiotics to restore your bowel flora. One should always take probiotics after taking antibiotics. Actually, it would behoove one to take probiotics daily anyway, just for good bowel/immunity health. My opinion. 7-14 days does not sound healthy, to me. Hope you feel better soon.

Did you know that when hysterectomies are done many things can happen to destroy the function of our other pelvic organs (we are not told of this at the time, or we would not have hysterectomies. Been there. See hystersisters.com The Female Pelvic Anatomy video.)

Either or both of these things can happen.

1. Colonic inertia (which sounds like what you have) can result from nerves to the hindgut being destroyed when the uterus is removed. Also blood supply to the colon can be lessened making it work less well, but it is mainly the nerve disruption.

2. Anatomical changes can occur such as the vaginal vault not being secured by reapproximation of both the round ligaments in the front and the uterosacral ligaments in the back.. So what can happen is you can develop a rectocele. Pouch where rectum sort of bulges into the vagina and poop gets stuck there.

3. If the space between the rectum and vagina open up over time, sigmoid colon or loops of small bowel can descend into this space and narrow the rectum when you try to poop.

INTERESTING that we are not warned of this and the many other bad things hysterectomy can do to our bodies. Mine was needless, for a two cm fibroid that may not have been the cause of my "flooding" as the heavy flow did not happen every month. Was likely some type of hormonal upset. If your hyst was for cancer or some other serious disease of the uterus, then likely there was no other choice. But I got seriously screwed having a hyst that was unneeded. The rest of my story is too long to post here, but through a TON of misdiagnosis and wrong surgery for what was actually a rectocele, I ended up permanently losing use of my rectum, colon, and pelvic floor muscles, and for 7 months the use of my small intestine. Lysis of severe small bowel adhesions from the "pelvic floor restoration surgery" and lysis of adhesions and an ileostomy was the only thing that could be done to save my life.

So if you were fine prior to your hyst, as I was, it was likely something to do with pelvic nerves to the colon or some structural issue that developed in the absense of the uterus as its removal leaves a void. You have my total empathy, and I hope you find a solution. Rosemary

Hep93- Thank you so much for the cascara alternative. I am grateful for a cheaper natural alternative that "works" anytime opposed to miralax which is so costly and doesnt do much unless coupled with other laxatives anyway. ugh. :(I thought cascara caused dependency though, no? And the mag citrate I used for colonoscopy worked but ooh my was it the most AWFUL tasting stuff! blah! I contorted my face so bad when I took that my mother looked at me like I had 5 heads lol It was VERY hard to get it down but I did eventually. I think I used the citus kind. Boy did it make me want to vomit! Any other better tasting versions? Ty in advance as I just cant stomach that flavor. And yes, I'm on SSi as I was a housewife working in my ex husbands biz from home for 10yrs. not drawing a paycheck so it screwed me for soc. sec. disability and the better benefits of medicare . :( He ruined my sanity and took every dime I invested when I DID work fulltime for his biz. But thats a WHOLE other story, he's famous, remarried and Im ill and in a bind, ugh.

Joan- I sure sympathize that docs don't care about constipation...I'm so sick of being told this will pass. O yeah- only since jan/feb has this been nonstop chronic issue!!! :( I will certainly look into this med with pharmacist b4 doc. Sometimes WE have to be the researchers and THEN tell doctors WHAT to do for us!!! Thats why REAL patients conversing on forums like this is SOOO valuable. Hmmm should we get a refund for their incompentency? ;)

Kim- I did try the probiotics as of 2 days ago, still seeing if makes ANY difference ty. :)

Rosemary-O MY GOODNESS!!! So the hysterectomy DID screw your bowels up??? I swear this surgery damaged me. Makes sense too. Can colonoscopy diagnose a rectocele? Will surgery help this or damage bowel function more? I was asking this to the doctors before the hysterectomy as they said My mass may have affected my intestines also- they swore after surgery the mass or surgery didn't affect intestines at all. What a crock! Its obvious something happened. :(((Were you told by your docs that this was not caused by your hysterectomy? I am sooo sorry as its soooo upsetting and devasting to go through one operation only to find now you have even worse issues with health caused by the surgery. :(

Thank you all for all input, it truly helps ease my mind as docs make you feel stupid or insane.- Liz

Hi Liz and Shawn....strangely enough the dicyclomine has worked but not as well as the zelmac did. I use three fiber products and 1 10mg dicylomine at night. The pharmacist told me it can make you sleepy.

Well I am super tired with asthma and allergies and having a total knee replacement in December - so who needs to be more tired.

Hello all- I'm still fighting w/the terrible constipation...:( I havent been able to see a doctor again as of yet. Weight is steadily increasing even though Im hardly eating and walking a mile a day now. :( Hope you all are having better luck and more answers. Liz

Shawn- No ride to doc as family is away and $ issue. Also the hysterectomy went so wrong that I'm very scared I need another operation. I dont' know how long it takes to get colon cancer though and that's scary too as all that waste build up is toxic I know. My brother in law died of colon cancer at 40 from years of fighting constipation caused by psyche meds. :(

I Also read that surgery rarely corrects adult onset constipation especially after hysterectomy. And if you do get surgery a study done said in 5yrs constipation is likely to return or you are stuck w/ too many bowel movements. Not very encouraging statistics or answers I'm finding. :(

University Department of Surgery, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK.Abstract

Colorectal and anal sphincter motility and electrophysiology were investigated in 14 women with profound constipation following hysterectomy and compared with an asymptomatic group of control subjects. Twelve patients complained of significant urinary symptoms. No differences in the motor function of the anal sphincters were detectable. The latency of the pudendoanal reflex was unchanged after hysterectomy. Proctometrograms demonstrated significantly increased rectal volumes and compliance in the hysterectomy group together with deficits of rectal sensory function. In the basal state a significant proximal-to-distal sigmoid colon motility gradient existed only in the control group. Following stimulation with Prostigmin, this gradient was enhanced in the control group but paradoxically reversed in the hysterectomized patients, thus constituting a functional obstruction. Denervation supersensitivity was demonstrable in two patients tested with carbachol provocation but not in control subjects. These findings suggest dysfunction in the autonomic innervation of the hindgut in some patients who had undergone hysterectomy, resulting in severe constipation.

PMID: 2276019 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

and study I found: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1420916/

I would be careful interpreting the studies. I was just talking to an expert about you. He had a patient that didn't go for 12 days. However not going is abnormal and you should be checked out. You might not need another operation. The important thing here are tests and a good doctor.

You don't really get autointoxification, that is a myth. Sorry to hear about your brother in law. My father died a couple years ago from colon cancer as well. They could have saved him, biut he waited to long to go see a doctor.

I still think you should see a doctor as soon as you can.

Also on July 6 come to the chat with the experts I posted about.Forum Moderator

I am not a doctor. All information I present is for educational purposes only and should not be subsituted for the advise of a qualified health care provider.

Please make sure you have your symptoms diagnosed by a medical practitioner or a doctor.

Liz, many women have constipation after a hysterecomy. For some it is due to the body healing and if the ovaries were removed changes in hormone levels (which my doctor said can take anywhere from a few months to years). Sometimes during a hysterecomy the doctor has to move the colon (that's what happened to me) and then afterward the organs drop into a new location (that's how my doctor explained it).

There are things you can do to help. Regular exercise is one. Have you tried eating prunes, plums or prune juice? What works for me is eating 4-5 prunes daily. Prunes help to soften your stools much the same way that laxatives and softeners do.

Hope this helps

inpain89 said...I am wondering if you don't treat the constipation due to lack of funds if you can die from no bowel movements. I only seem to be able to move my bowels every 7 to 14days now. I dont have the money to use miralax 5x a day as 2 or 3x does nothing for me. I get relief EVENTUALLY if I set aside a day and throw 3 or 4 laxatives at the problem. (M.O.M., dulcolax, miralax or exlax) The docs did colonoscopy and said all was great. GREAT is being able to go to bathroom!!! UGH

The tests are super expensive, embarrassing and I don't really drive so it all seems so hopeless to resolve this. The constipation started which I never had b4, back in jan of 2010 after my hysterectomy. Before this I was going 2 or 3 times a day always after meals. No ISSUES. Now I dont even get the urge to go ever. :(

I just wanted to know if this keeps going on if I will eventually die. I eat once a day something small and I was ALWAYS a size 2 or 4 My entire life (Im 39) and now even cutting back 2 meals a day I have gained 20lbs since january. :( Will I just continue to gain weight? And honestly will this get worse with the constipation? I am at my wits end. Oh and enemas produce little movement either...Nor does water increase or exercising more.

TY all for ANY input as I am very scared and miserable. I am so glad to find this site and meet people with same issues however, I am very sorry for ANYONE suffering this-